Lawn-mower attachment



*Julyv 1'7, 192s.

1,677,250 F. M. RITTER LAWN MowER 'ATTAGHMENTv Filed Aug. 2e, 1927 2 Sheng-sheer fl n 1 All l f'" July 17, 1928. Q 1,677,250 F. M. RITTER LAWN MOWER ATTACHMENT vFiled Aug. 2e, 1927 2 sheets-sheet 2 ToRNEY v Patented July 17, 1928.

untreu s'ra'rasj'l'iirrlsiNr4 oF FICE.

FRANK MONTGOMERY RITTER, or wAsHINGToN, DISTRICT or coLUMBIL'AssIeNoR or THREE-FOURTHS To JAMES vANsANDT HU'rcHINs, or WASHINGTON; DISTRICT 011'v COLUMBIA.

LAWN-MOWER ATTACHMENT.

Application IedAugust 26,4 1927.*:Seria1 No. 215,720.

unstrained service of said cutting element without danger of clogging or bre'akage.

In its more detailed nature the invention resides in the provision of a novel grass andweed topping reel or cutting element, and novel means to mount the same upon a lawn mower in advance of and on a cutting plan(-l higher than that of the main cutting element of said lawn mower. v

The invention further resides in the provision of certa-in advantageous structural 'features in the cutting element or topping reel and mounting devices whereby a more eilicient cutting action is provided for than is 'possible in the use of common types of cutters, and whereby thesaid element mayA be quickly and conveniently mounted upon the mower and easily adjusted to conditions of use.

With the above .and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the invention further vresides inthe novel details of construction,4 combination and arrangement of parts, all of which will be first fully described in the following detailed descripf' tion, then be particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View illustrating the invention jin use. Figure 2 is a vertical cross section illustrating the attachment' mounted upon a mower. Y f.

Figure 3 is al perspective view of the topping reel per se, one cutter" or cross .bar be.-I

4 Ing shown separated. Figure 4 is a perspective view of the U- -'shaped adustable ledger bar.

F igure 5 is a face view of the central portion of the topping reel.

Figure v6 is a perspective view of the hanger arm and brace arm mountable at the l right hand side of the mower.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the hangby passing through-and clamping the feet 8 nections 23.

frame plate and 2 and 3 the front and rear cross frame rods. The ends of the rods areA and vare secured by nuts 4 to the end frame castings 5 to secure the said frames in parallel spaced relation.

The plate 1 is secured to 4osition upon the frames 5 by U-bolts v6 w ich partially surround the rods 2 and 3 and pass through the said plate, and the said U-bolts also serve to secure the power.' motor 7 upon the plate 1 of that motor upon the said late..

c5, shouldered and threaded and pass through The motor or engine sha t 9 is projected l,

beyond the housing at one end as at 10 and passesv through a'bearing 11 provided in the y bearing standard 12 whichextends vertically from the frame 5 at the right handl side of 'the mower. .Sprockets 13 and 14 are secured upon the extended shaft. end andserve a purpose later .to be described.

vvA cross shaft 15 is rotatable in bearings provided therefor in the end 'frames 5 and has mounted thereupon the traction wheels 16. Another cross vshaft17 is rotatable 1n` bearings provided therefor in the said end frames and carries the usual multi-blade mower 18 vwhich coacts with the "adjustable 17 rotation is Aim arted' through the chain 21 from the sproc et 13'on the motor shaft. The shaft 17 is also provided at each end with a small sprocket 22 which serve tol impart rotation, when desired, to the'tracy tion wheels 16 through the transmission con- The parts thus far described, with-the.' exception of the sprocket 14, areconventiona1 and form parts of a type of power mwer. known to the trade and upn which the atcross or ledger bar 19 incutting the grassto .the desired height. l V I l To the sprocket 20 secured upon the shaft 'tachment forming the subject matter of my of reel I provide a central cross armspider invention is especially adaptable to use. It shouldbe understood however, that while I have disclosed the invention on this particular type of mower, it is not so limited in use, but may be employed in association lwith any mower, power or hand type, uponV which it may be conveniently and practically mounted.

ln the practical development of my invenl tion I provide a pair of hanger arms 24 each apertured at 25 at one end to lit the respec enlargement 29, and a pair of apertures 30 adjacent and in advance of said lug 28. See

Figures 6 and 8.

uitable bores are provided in the bearing 'lugs 29 in which bearing bushings 31 are replaceably mounted to provide proper bearing for the cross shaft 32. See Figures 6 and 8.

A sprocket 33 is secured upon one end of the shaft 32 and is. adapted to be rotated to turn the said shaft in its bearings by the chain 34 which is trained over the sprocket 14 on the motor shaft. See Figures 1, 2 and 3. A U-shaped ledger bar 35 having a slightly bevelled advance edge 36 and parallel slots 37 in its side arms is provided and is vertif cally-adjustably secured upon the arms 24 by the bolts 38 which pass through the said slots and the apertures 30 of the said arms.

The rotatable shaft 32 forms a part of an auxiliary or advance weed and grass topping reel and thearins 24 serve to mount the said reel in advance of and on a higher cutting plane than that of the main cutter lor mower 18 so that it will cut or top the tall grass andweeds that ordinarily could not be handled by the said main cutter and bring them down to a size for being conveniently and eiiciently handled by said main cutter.v This advance cutting reel is of peculiar construction and is adapted to cut the weeds and grass more efficiently than the commonly employed types of reels and with a consumption `of relatively less power in the attainment of that object, and with less wear because of the fact `that it can be rotated more slowly. In the construction of this improved form 39 having a mounting boss 40, and two end arms or plates V41 having similar bosses 42, the said members 39 and 41 being plate-41 aligning one spider arm, by the set s secured to' position upon the shaft 32, with each end 'end plates 41 are positioned at right angles.

to each other. See Figures 2 and 3.

The aligning arms or plates'arefconnected by cross bars 44 removablysebuired'` at45 to the said arm or plate ends and onthe advance or cutting edge of each said bara thin cutter blade 46 is removably andreplaceably secured. I

Each bar 44 and its blade wardly beyond the spider arm connection so that. the two staggered individual cutting units overlap at the center as at 47 to assure perfect and complete cutting througlrthe center as efficiently as though the knives or' cutter blades extended full width without'abreak.

`46 extends inf l Thus the staggered units cut alternately i one blade across all and a little more'than one side, then the next in like manner on the other side, and so on, the cuts coming at alternate sides on quarters.

It is a .well known fact that helical or curved blades, acting against the ledger bar,

tend to and do 'orce tough grass and weeds laterally and often merely deflect them downward without cutting them. This is especially true when the cutting edges are somewhat dull.

Also, these curved blades each cut in conjunction with the ledger bar at one point in their length only at a time, the point of the curve that is passing over the ledver bar at the particular moment, and must ybe rot-ated at relatively high speeds to make eiiicient even cutting possible. This necessitates the employment of a greater number of blades, v

and the use of more power than is necessary 1n the use of my improved topping reel, not

to speak of the greatly increased wear to which such common types of curved blade high speed reel equipments are subjected.

By providing my straight blades and ar-` ranging them in staggered units the cuts are made against lthe ledger bar across the full length of av blade at once, first at one side then at the other. The strain on the blades is thus equalized and eiiciently distributed and by making the broad cuts in the manner stated it is possible to rotate the reel at a relatively slow speed with an attendant reduction in power consumption and wear on the moving parts. By providing the bars 44, very -thin blades 46 may be employed without sacrificing cuts ting strength, and in addition, a great econ- 'o my in blade material vand blade reconditioning cost is effected since when a blade becomes Worn it may be conveniently re Brace arms 48 are provided andare slotted at their advance ends at 49 to receive the bolts 50 which pass through the apertures tion above the ground.

The relation of the ledger bar 35 with l' Ycluding end framesv and cross ro s to secureV them together, and means to impart rotation if() 27 in the advance ends of the arms 24 and adjustably support the said arm ends. The other ends ofthe arms 48 are secured oneI to the frameextension 12, see Figure2, and the other'to the brace bracket 51 mounted upon the frame plate 1, see Figures l and?.

When it is 'desired to, raise or lower the topping reel the nuts 4 and bolts 50 are loosened and the arms 24 moved pivotally on the ends of the rod 2 to the desired position. The-nuts 4 and bolts 50 may then be'retightcned to secure the reel at the desired elevathe topping reel may be readily adjustedby proper manipulation of the slot,- and bolt connections 37-38, the lugs 28 serving to preventtwisting of the ledger bar on its connections and also to absorb the shocks of engagement of reel and weedsv during the to ping function.

rom the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thou ht that the novel details of construction, t e manner of use -and the advantages of my invention will be readilyY apparent to those skilled inthe art to which it relates.

What I claim is:

,1. Thel combination with a lawn mower having a cutting reel, a carrying frame including end frames and `cross rods' to secure them together,- and means to impart rotation to the cuttlng reel; of a topping reel in advance of said cutting reel, trunnions pro-- jecting from the topping reel, hanger arms adjustably secured v at oneV of theirends to the ends of one cross rod to project forwardly therefrom, bearings carried by said arms to receive the topping reel trunnions,

-brace rods connected at their advance ends to the projected ends of the arms and at their other Vends to the mower frame, and means to transmit rotation to the topping reel from said rotation im arting means.

' 2. The combination wit having a cutting reel, a carryin frame intoV the cutting reel; of a topping reel-inad# vvance of said .cuttingreel, trunnions pro,- )ecting from, thetopplng reel, hanger armsA -pivotally-adjustably secured at one of their ends to the ends of one cross rod to project "forwardly therefrom, bearings carried by said armstoreceive the topping reel trunnion's, brace rods adjustably slot and bolt connected at their advance ends to theprojected endsof the arms and at their other ends to the mower frame, and means to transmit rotationto the topping reel from said rotation imparting means.

Y 3. The combination with a lawn -mower having a cutting reel a carryin frame in- 'cludingend frames and cross ro's to secure a lawn mower vthem together, and meansto impart rotawardly therefrom, bearings carried by said arms to receive the topping reel trunnions, brace rods connected' at their advance ends to the vprojected ends of the arms and at' 75 their other ends to the mower frame, twist preventing lugs carried by the hanger arms,

a U-shaped ledger bar adjustably mounted on the hanger arms in coactive relationwith the topping reel -and in engagement with the twisty preventing lugs, and means to transmit rotation to the topping reel from said rotation imparting means.V v

- 4. The combination with a lawn mower having a cutting reel, end frames in which 85` the reel 'is supported and one'of which has an upward bearing extension, cross rods to clamp the end frames together, ay basel-plate carried by the rods, a ower motor mounted on the base plate an having a shaft extended and bearing inthe end frameextension bearing, vtraction wheels, and means to impart rotation to thereel and wheels from. the motor shaft;l of a weed and 'grass top-' ping attachment comprisi-n ,f,- an advance-9e topping reed-having truninons,l` han er'arms apertured at one -end'to permite ampm Monto'the ends of one of the ross rods an having reel trunnion vreceivinv f .bearing lugs, twist preventing lugs carried y thehanger arms, a U-shaped ledger bar adjustabl c ar-4 ried by the hanger arms in coactive r ation with the topping reel andlying 'agalnst the twist preventing lugs, a brace bracket Vmounted on the base plate, and brace bars secured at one end to the frameV extension ,and brace bracket respectively and adjust# v ably bolt and slot connected to thefree ends of the hanger arms at their other ends, and

. means to impart rotation to the topping reel "l l0 from the motor shaft; 4. 5. An attachment of the character del.

scribed comprisinga weed andgrass toppingi f reelhaving trunnions, hanger'arms aper# -tured at one 'end Vfor adjustablc'e'.pivotal U5 'mounting on a suitable supporting frame 'and havmg reel-trunnins-receiving bearing lugs, twist' preventing lugs. carried ly Y `the' hanger arms, a U-shaped Aledger'har a justahly carried by--the hanger arms in'co- 120 'active relation with the topplng reel' and'lying against the twist preventlnglu s, and

brace bars adjustably connected to t e free I ends of tbe hanger arms and adapted to have ,their other .ends secured to a suitable supportin means. l. v 6. T e combination with a lawn mower having a-cutting reel, a'frame,.and vmeans togimpart rotation i to' the Vcuttln ''reelg off a topping reel in advance o f sa1d 'cutting 30 reel, trunnions projecting from the topping rcel, hanger arms adjustably secured at one `of their ends to a part of the frame to pro'- ject forwardly therefrom, bearings carried by said arms to receive the topping reel trunnions, brace rodsconnected at their advance ends to the projected ends ofthe arms and at their other ends to the frame, a ledger bar carried by the hanger arms in coactive relation with the toppingv reel, and means to transmit rotation to the advance reel from said rotation imparting means.

7. The combination With a lawn mower having a cutting reel, a frame, and means to impart rotation to the cutting reel; of a topping reel in advance of said, cutting reel,

'connected at their advance ends to trunnions projecting from the topping reel, hanger arms secured at one of their ends to a part of the frame to project forwardly therefrom, bearings carried by said arms to receive the topping reel trunnions, brace rods the projected ends of the arms and at their other ends to the frame', twist preventing lu s carried by the hanger arms, a U-shaped edger bar mounted on the hanger arms in coactlve relation with the topping reel and in engagement with the twist preventing lugs, and means to transmit rotation to the advance reel from said rotation imparting means.

FRANK MONTGOMERY RTTER. 

